


on an unrelated note (to the relics, that is)

by CiaranthePage



Series: The Disease [3]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Post-The Crystal Kingdom, Pre-11th Hour, Rating May Change, Tags May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-30
Updated: 2017-07-30
Packaged: 2018-12-07 10:04:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11621298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CiaranthePage/pseuds/CiaranthePage
Summary: Sometimes, the simplest of moments can set into motion a spiral of events with drastic ending consequences. A stray arrow that brings down a kingdom, a throwaway comment that starts a rebellion, a blueprint drawn for fun that brings about a new technological age.Angus McDonald experienced one of these simple events, and before he knew it, he and the ever famous Tres Horny Boys were caught up in a race against time and sickness, helping another group of adventurers hunt down a cure for a nearly always fatal Disease. The more they learn, the more the World's Greatest Detective becomes unsure of whether this will be the case that he just can't solve, and ofcourse, this one has the most lives on the line.[no series context needed]





	on an unrelated note (to the relics, that is)

**Author's Note:**

> hello and welcome to one of my greatest undertakings!! I'm really excited to finally share this story with everyone, and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!!
> 
> the tags + rating are subject to change merely bcus I plan to update them as that content appears and don't want to give away spoilers for stuff that won't happen for... quite some time.
> 
> so!! as you can probably tell by the series it's in, this story is set after the events of [Holy Boy](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10843947), though everything important in that story is re-explained in this text as the details become relevant. I still recommend reading that one, but it is not a requirement for enjoyment!! ([Something's Wrong](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11218809) was a theoretical look into this story, but will not be making any sort of word-for-word come back, if any scene like it appears)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ...this would be a short mission, they hoped, a quick in-and-out dash of handing over information and then leaving. It left Angus a little sad, but he knew they had important business as the only Reclaimers left in the Bureau and wanted to be ready to answer the call to action should it arise. He slept in his own bed for the first time in three days, only waking up when Magnus came to get him so they could head out. He picked up his bag, following Magnus to the hangar, and before he knew it, they were hurtling through the clouds.

    Sometimes, the simplest of moments can set into motion a spiral of events with drastic ending consequences. A stray arrow that brings down a kingdom, a throwaway comment that starts a rebellion, a blueprint drawn for fun that brings about a new technological age.

 

    Angus McDonald had recently experienced one of these little moments, and he was already watching the beginnings of his spiral unfold, although like so many he didn't entirely realize he was. The event had been quiet and easily unnoticeable in the grand scheme of things, even so far as these moments go: the Reclaimers had taken him planetside for some shopping a few weeks before, and after being separated from them (well, they'd all left him behind, really), Angus had met another kid with a world-saving mission, barely two years older than himself. The boy's name was Helm, and his mission was to find a cure for an often fatal disease that threatened to wipe out a large portion of the world's population. He had the help of only four other people, his mentor and three friends they had picked up along the way.

 

    Angus actually remembered the disease Helm described during their brief meeting. The Bureau of Balance had just closed its investigation on the then small scale outbreaks when he arrived; the disease was determined to be unrelated to any of the remaining relics, and as such all their information was stashed away in the library and forgotten about. Normally, the information being unclassified and accessible was the best possible outcome. And at first, it had been! A problem, however, reared its head: they hadn't actually found much of anything before abandoning the case.

 

    Which left Angus very little to work with.

 

    During those few weeks since the meeting, Angus had scoured every single scrap of Bureau notes on the case, several times, and begun to look through the medical books in the library. All for barely a page and a half of notes in his own book. The most important details were highlighted across the top of the first page by underlines and the use of Angus's special pen (a golden fountain pen he'd gotten as an anonymous Candlenights gift). The notes read:

_-Supernatural origin? Magic symptoms present in every case_

_-Common in magic users, who have higher survival rate_

_-Several nicknames present, none explained. Include Apprentice Killer, Ritual Poison, and Warlock's Kiss_

 

    The rest of his notes were primarily on the symptoms and death toll of the disease. He kept finding inconsistencies, which was salt on a wound when paired with the fact that symptoms like the ones this disease posed no ideas for cures, just more questions. Every recorded case was different. Different symptoms, different intensity, different descriptions of what the only consistency among them all felt like. And the consistency provided little information, either: it was simply that eventually they all fell into a 24-hour coma and after those 24 hours would either be confirmed dead or wake up to lessening symptoms and a full recovery.

 

    Normally, Angus loved using the end-result clues to work backward for the original cause. Much of his detective work had been solved by working backward, and he wasn't called the world's greatest detective for no reason! But it didn't work the same way with diseases. Angus was no doctor; he had never even been around many of them. His knowledge of bodies was limited to those already dead (particularly for how long and why).

 

    The natural thing was to ask for help, but Anus had abandoned that on day one. He didn't want to bring this up to his coworkers, too afraid they'd try to get him to stop or tell the Director about his side project. The last time he'd attempted to call Helm on his Stone of Farspeech someone else had picked up and told him to wait and call back, shouting above the sounds of a battle. Even the Reclaimers,  who he was pretty sure were the only people who wouldn't rat him out, would be of little use during this research phase of his case. He was on his own with a problem he had no idea how to solve.

 

    Needless to say, by this point, Angus was  _quite_ frustrated.

 

    He threw his notebooks onto the table he'd claimed, slumping in his seat and lying on his arms with a sigh, his glasses pushed to the top of his head. The dust on some of the older and less perused texts he'd dragged out billowed into the air and made him cough. He let himself lie there for a few minutes, trying to relax his mind and trick it into running smoothly again. Maybe he actually needed to go back to his room and sleep, he mused, instead of falling asleep on the couch he'd found with a book half his own weight on his stomach and glasses eschew. Or perhaps eat something that wasn't his endless hoard of snack bars and fruit. Both sleeping and eating were essential to proper brain function, and although he'd technically been doing both, they were rather low-quality versions... His mind started to wander, wondering what the cafeteria had been serving during his absence and if Taako had tried cooking again (and if it was as good as rumors said), and for a brief moment how his snack stash had been restocked after he'd nearly run out the night before -- had someone come in while he was asleep or had  _he_ done it in his sleep? He felt his attention wane, the thoughts becoming less and less related to the task at hand as he let his mind wander.

 

    A hand touched his shoulder. Angus jumped, snapping back to attention and nearly falling out of his chair. His glasses fell off of their perch, landing on the floor with a soft  _thwump_ , and he threw his arms up on instinct, ready to defend himself from any blows coming his way --

 

   Except none came because it was just Taako. Who now stood there looking concerned in his carefully hidden way, waiting for Angus to come back to earth (moon?). Besides the expression, he hardly looked any different than usual: his hand was propped on his hip, red wine colored hair done up in the tight looped braid he wore for magic lessons, the Umbra Staff was slung across his back, and his hat was tilted back. He almost seemed to be waiting for something, waiting for Angus to do or realize something, but he said nothing.

 

    "...sir?" Angus managed, lowering his arms and fishing his glasses from the floor. He still felt floaty, and he had to rub his eyes to focus on Taako entirely.

 

   "You've been in here for seventy-two straight hours, Angus," Taako stated. "And, admittedly, Magnus noticed first, but eventually someone had to check on you. Whatcha up to kiddo?"

 

   Angus stared at him as if he didn't understand. That sounded... that couldn't be right. Angus's mouth fell open slightly, only really able to turn towards Taako when he moved around the table. Taako pulled out a chair, draped his hat over it, propped the Umbra Staff against the table, and promptly flopped into the chair. He stuck his hand out, examining his nails. Without looking up, he said, "I'm not leaving until you tell me."

 

    Taako briefly looked up at the spread of books and largely blank notebooks across the table, taking in the titles and content of the books and scanning the parts of Angus's page and a half of notes that weren't written in Angus's private code. Angus couldn't find his words, yet, simply staying silent and trying to get his brain back into gear. First priority: he needed to form coherent sentences out of the pieces of white lies he'd been preparing for a few days now in case someone came in to question him, as Taako had. Taako usually didn't actually care what Angus was doing, not enough to ask for specifics, so Angus went with the simplest explanation he had.

 

    "Just research."

 

    "Research about what?"

 

    Angus puffed out his cheeks, for once not caring if he came across as childish. Of course, today was the day Taako dug for specifics; Angus just wanted to go back to his note taking. "Diseases, sir."

 

    "I thought you were a detective."

 

    "I am! But a good detective explores many areas of study to assist in difficult cases."

 

    "Mm, guess so huh."

 

    The sound he'd made was content, but Taako didn't seem in any sort of hurry to leave. Angus took a deep breath; he tried to look nonchalant by pretending to scan his notes, despite most of them being dud pages. He tucked his important notes randomly into the pile to dissuade anyone who looked through them, put that notebook halfway through the pile he made. The entire library felt as though it was gripped by a heavy silence, which hung in the air and stifled everything almost as much as the dust beside it. He felt muffled, as though he couldn't think of anything beyond the small snippets of pages he read and the sound of papers rustling as he closed books and started to sort them into piles. The silence was heavy enough to muffle the pages themselves as if they could sense the tension growing in the room and knew to keep their voices down. Taako didn't look up from his nails as Angus moved, pretending they were the most interesting thing in the world. Angus had words on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed them back, avoiding Taako's gaze and pretending nothing was wrong.

 

    The silence shattered. "Do you remember what day it is?"

 

    Angus dropped the book he'd been holding, sending up another cloud of dust and making him sneeze. "I. Yes, of course."

 

    That was a lie. He struggled to put together the information he had to give a more solid answer, thinking back his last glance at the calendar when he'd picked up his notebook and snack stash, plus what Taako had said about him having been in the library for seventy-two hours. That was three days, so if he just added them together... His memory of the calendar felt as though it was being consumed by Voidfish static as he tried desperately to pull it back, and after a few moments of panic he finally let out a soft sigh of defeat. "Is it... having I forgotten something, sir?"

 

    "Magic lessons, Angus. Missed three of 'em, now. Whole reason I volunteered to come get ya."

 

    Angus's expression turned to embarrassed horror in half a second. He covered his face, pushing his glasses on top of his hands and almost knocking them off for the second time. "I'm so sorry, sir, I should have been paying more attention!" he said from behind his hands, ears twitching and flattening against his head. "Y-"

 

   "Whoa, whoa, no need to get like that about it," Taako interrupted, putting his hands up in surrender. "You just, ya know, seem to like 'em, so I figured I'd drag you outta this dusty library to do some magicks." "Magicks" being punctuated with him wiggling his fingers and casting Prestidigitation, making a shower of harmless rainbow sparks rain down over Angus's head.

 

    Fingers spread carefully, revealing a single eye. "It's... fine?" he questioned.

 

    "Sure is, Agnes. Hell, if you wanna keep doing whatever shady research you've got going on, I won't stop ya!"

 

    Angus's hands dropped from his face, one pushing his glasses back up his nose after they fell down from his forehead. "You haven't told Madame Director I've been in here for seventy-two hours, have you?" he asked, ears loosening from the sides of his head but still pointing nervously down as his hands twirled together. "She says I shouldn't be away from my room for more than forty-eight straight hours unless absolutely necessary."

 

    "She's got bigger things to worry about than the locations of an eleven-year-old and a wizard or how long they've been in those locations, bubbeleh. You're good."

 

    Angus had a sneaking suspicion Taako just didn't _care_ if she knew. Of course, maybe he genuinely believed that she didn't care about them, despite the fact that the eleven-year-old and wizard in question were actually quite important to her as a person and a boss but he said nothing about the topic. No use looking a gift horse in the mouth, really; if she didn't know, she didn't know, and Angus wasn't in trouble. He thought for a moment about the offer; he did want to go back to researching, but he'd missed magic lessons more than he'd wanted to admit in the moment, and a change of scenery sometimes helped with cases. Plus, the couch in the Reclaimer's room was much more comfortable than the one in the library.

 

    He started to pack up his books once he'd made his decision, putting the books he'd found useful into his bag alongside his various notebooks and stacking the ones he hadn't to be put away. Taako stood and stretched as he packed, throwing the Umbra Staff over his shoulder and putting his hat back on. Once Angus had tucked everything he'd brought into bags or pockets, they left the library together, taking the elevator down to the Reclaimers' suite. The main living area was unoccupied, although a variety of scattered plates told Angus that it hadn't been that way for long. He set down his things in the large armchair he was  _pretty_ sure Magnus had made just for him (it had only appeared a few weeks after magic lessons had started, after all, and looked relatively unused in comparison to the rest of the furniture in the room) and pulled his wand from the little sheath on his leg he'd made for it. Taako flopped down onto one of the other chairs, one hand keeping the Umbra Staff standing straight in front of him on the floor. He leaned on that hand, peering out from under his hat.

 

    "What were we working on last time?" Taako asked, rocking gently in his seat. "Pretty sure you got past Mage Hand ages ago, and you've started gettin' the hang out a couple level one spells, right?"

 

    Angus nodded, ears perking up as he opened his mouth to talk about the variety of cantrips and small level one spells he'd been trying in the free time. Before he could get more than a "Well, sir --" out, however, the door opened with a pleasant  _ding_ and Magnus stepped into the room. He looked relieved to see them both there, his shoulders slumping with relief. He leaned on the doorframe of the elevator, explaining to their blank stares that, "The Director wants to see us. You, especially, Angus."

 

    "I thought you said she --!" Angus whimpered, tightening his grip on his wand as he looked over at Taako with wide eyes, ears drooping once again (the voice of his mother scolding him that they'd get stuck that way drifted in, briefly).

 

    Taako's face was scrunched up in confusion. He was sitting up straight in the chair, now, shoulders squared and eyes focused intently on Magnus as if searching for a lie. His ears stuck straight out from his head as his eyes shifted only briefly to Angus, meeting his gaze for half a second. "I swear I didn't tell her anything, bubbeleh," Taako huffed. "Haven't seen her in a few days, actually."

 

    "...what?" Magnus asked, arriving at his turn to look confused, now. "Ango, do you think you're in trouble? She didn't seem mad or anything."

 

    Angus breathed a sigh of partial relief, loosening his grip on his wand and slipping it carefully back into its sheath. "Oh, okay. We should go, then, it could be very important!"

 

    Taako still looked confused, and maybe a little suspicious, but stood and threw on the Umbra Staff with enough of a casual air that they figured he'd come with only minor complaints. The elevator ride up was mostly silent; no one seemed to have much to say until Taako realized someone was missing. "Where the fuck is Merle?"

 

    "Probably in her office already?" Magnus said with a single shoulder shrug. "We were training when Davenport came to get us."

 

    They made their way to the Director's office with a slight haste, where Merle was, in fact, waiting for them, along with the Director herself. She was leaning on her staff, the smallest of frowns ruining her normally neutral expression. "Hello," she said, giving them a nod as they came in and took their places in front of her dais. "I'm sorry to interrupt your downtime between collecting relics with an unrelated mission --" Taako groaned, muttering "I knew it" under his breath -- "but it has come to my attention that someone in the Bureau has undertaken an almost equally large personal mission, and I can no longer ignore it."

 

    Angus felt the tips of his ears heat up and flit downwards slightly; he knew the blush wouldn't be noticeable, but he silently prayed she wasn't looking at him hard enough to notice the movement. She was talking about him, wasn't she? That would explain why he had been called  _with_ the Reclaimers instead of after they'd left. Wait, did this mean she already knew about him breaking the sort-of curfew he'd gotten? He grew more nervous by the moment as she let the information pass between the Reclaimers; he twisted the hem of his vest in his hands as his ears moved slowly more downwards. He stared straight ahead, trying to pretend he wasn't freaking out as bad as he was. Undoubtedly, someone had noticed, but if he could lessen the blow... He felt a quick pat on his back, as though someone was trying to cheer him up. His eyes slid to the side, where Merle was standing next to him watching the Director for more explanation. He gave no indication that he was going to acknowledge what he'd done, so Angus didn't either.

 

    The Director stepped down from her dais, looking between them all until her eyes settled on Angus. "You asked for permission to view the notes on closed investigations, did you not?"

 

    Angus nodded. She made a small noise, then asked, "Why?"

 

    No use lying now. Angus began in a mumble, unable to look her in the eye, "I, uh, I met someone's who been tracking the disease that we looked into, except their investigation is still going, and I wanted to help." His voice grew a bit stronger, and though he was still strangling his vest and his ears were pointed at the floor behind him, he squared his shoulders and pushed his glasses up to better look her in the eye. "It's become very deadly, ma'am, and there's not a lot of information they can get to. I know the Bureau protects the world by destroying the relics, but this has the potential to be just as dangerous as one!"

 

    "I see."

 

    The Director surveyed them all again, her frown growing into a small smile. "We're still looking for the next relic. It may take some time before we locate it, and because of this, I see no reason to deny you an opportunity to do field research. Reclaimers, should he choose to, your next mission will be to assist him in gathering research and presenting it to this mysterious group seeking the cure for this disease."

 

    For a moment, there was only silence. Angus's eyes were wide, mouth agape and ears shot straight up in joyous surprise. Taako's lips curled into the smallest of disbelieving sneers. Magnus looked quizzical, eyebrows knit together. Merle let out a small sigh, running his fingers through his beard and examining the small flower that had gotten stuck to the wood. The Director coughed, saying, "Angus, I leave the final decision in your hands."

 

    He broke into a smile, throwing his hands up in a half-cheer. "Thank you, Madame Director! The notes you managed to gather aren't the most extensive, but they're something, and a chance to properly examine patients up close would aid tremendously!"

 

    "Then it's final. You'll depart tomorrow afternoon," the Director said. "That should give you time to prepare and get a  _proper_ night's sleep."

 

    She dismissed them with a wave of her staff, though motioned for Angus to stay. The Reclaimers left the room presumably to get ready and continue with their day; when he realized Angus wasn't at their heels, Taako tossed over his shoulder that if he still wanted magic lessons he just had to stop by. Once they were gone, the Director smiled apologetically at Angus. "This is...technically against the rules," she said, pulling out a small bag from a pocket in her robe, "but it will bring me peace of mind."

 

    She set the bag in Angus's hands, clasping her own over it and looking him in the eye. "Put this on before you land," she said, voice hushed. "Do not take it off after that, under _any_ circumstances. Do you understand?"

 

    Angus felt a shiver go down his spine from the intensity in her stare; he simply nodded, and the Director moved her hands away and Angus darted off. He started off towards the Reclaimers' room, eager to have his magic lessons. On his way, he slowed to a near stop, curious about the small pouch clutched in his hands. He opened it carefully, pouring the contents into his hand. Inside was a familiar charm on a woven leather cord.

 

    It was a small thing, consisting of a slim, ivory arm less than half the length of his pinky grasping a ruby heart roughly the same height by a golden loop. A face was carved into either side of the heart: one sad, and one smug. He remembered one of these charms hanging from the necklace that Helm wore, and this charm radiated the same sort of faint, warm magic aura that seemed to beat like a heart against his bare skin. He couldn't figure out why the Director would want him to have one, and considering that the exchange had broken the rules of the Bureau, he had a feeling he wasn't supposed to go to Leon and ask what it was. The look in her eyes, however, was convincing enough to not question it too deeply. He'd ask the Reclaimers, perhaps they'd know? He slipped the necklace over his head, tucking the charm into his vest.

 

    He spent the afternoon at magic lessons and sat in on them planning out the course of action -- this would be a short mission, they hoped, a quick in-and-out dash of handing over information and then leaving. It left Angus a little sad, but he knew they had important business as the only Reclaimers left in the Bureau and wanted to be ready to answer the call to action should it arise. He slept in his own bed for the first time in three days, only waking up when Magnus came to get him so they could head out. He picked up his bag, following Magnus to the hangar, and before he knew it, they were hurtling through the clouds.

 

    Taako glanced over at the charm, which Angus had pulled out of his vest to examine, and asked, "What's that?"

 

    Well, so much for asking the Reclaimers about it. "I'm not sure," Angus admitted. "Madame Director wanted me to wear it while on the mission."

 

    Taako snorted, muttering something about her never giving  _them_ any nice jewelry before missions. Magnus punched him playfully in the shoulder, saying, "Taako, you don't need any more than you already have."

 

    Looking at what Taako had donned for the mission -- several magical and nonmagical rings, a choker and a few lengths of necklaces, a crimson ribbon around his hat, and an intricate, rainbow-beaded bangle on the wrist not sporting his bracer -- one could see Magnus's point. But Taako still rolled his eyes, protesting, "It's the principle, Magnus."

 

    Merle shrugged, saying, "Magnus's got a point. I dunno if you  _could_ fit more jewelry without hindering your magic." He tried to seem nonchalant, but he was obviously trying not to laugh at how indignant Taako was being. Angus pretended not to notice them so he wouldn't get embarrassed about his gift causing a sort-of argument; he hid it with his hand and looked out the window.

 

    They were quite close to the ground, weren't they? Almost. Almost  _too_ close.

 

    Angus jumped up the grab the lever, practically crawling into Taako's lap in order to pull it and activate the landing gear. He got down immediately, going back to his seat and opening his mouth to apologize. Taako waved it off, pointing out the window instead. "Think that's your friend's camp?" he asked, his finger leading their gazes to a small cluster of three tents around a fire pit, with a fourth being built, which was now visible as they drifted downwards.

 

    "That's just beside our landing point. Sure hope it's them," Magnus said.

 

    The glass ball did not go unnoticed by the inhabitants of the camp. As it settled onto the grass, a towering, broad shouldered figure approached, standing just beside where the ball came to rest. After taking a moment to register the thick, dark braid tucked neatly against their head and their reddish skin, both topped with gracefully curling horns, Angus recognized them as Poetry, Helm's monk guardian. He hopped out of the sphere first, looking around for Helm and starting towards the camp. Poetry stuck out their arm to block him from going further, although it very nearly went over his head. Their tail wrapped around one of his ankles with a firm grip as they spoke, eye trained on the Reclaimers as they followed suit and hopped out of the orb. "You're Angus, correct?" they asked. "Helm spoke highly of you. He'll be here shortly, but until then, I must ask your companions to identify themselves."

 

    Magnus was trying to make eye contact with Poetry as they approached, though it was proving to be a challenge he hadn't faced in some time, as they stood nearly a head taller than him. "I'm Magnus Burnsides," he stated, putting a hand on his chest.

 

     "Hail and well met! I'm Taako," Taako said, flashing a smile (Poetry seemed unmoved).

 

    "Merle Highchurch," Merle said with a small bow.

 

    Poetry nodded, apparently content with these answers. Their tail disappeared from Angus's ankle as footsteps crunched the grass in front of them. Another, much shorter, more human figure came bounding out of the forest. "Angus!" Helm cried, giving Angus a brief hug. "I feared you would not be able to come after your last Stone message failed to reach me! But here you are! And you brought your companions that you spoke so highly of! It is an honor to meet you, Taako and Merle, and to see you once again Magnus. "He put his left hand on his shoulder and bowed, still smiling. "My name is Helm."

 

    "...like the god?" Merle questioned.

 

     "Yes! He is my patron. But we must get to camp before we speak further! I have several more companions you must meet and out here we could be spotted! ...of course, assuming Poetry introduced themself," Helm said, looking up at Poetry.

 

    Poetry looked down at him, and then back up at the Bureau employees. They crossed their left arm over their chest, nodding their head as they introduced themself. "Poetry, monk of Helm."

 

    There was a small muttering of hellos in response; Poetry's expression didn't change, though Helm seemed a little upset at the lack of enthusiasm. He led the parade back to the camp (which was suddenly much farther now that they were on the ground), Angus beside him and the others trailing behind at different lengths. Angus could see Taako out of the corner of his eye; he was leaning into Magnus and telling a joke, accompanied shortly after by muffled laughter. He thought about turning to ask them what the joke was about, but them Helm touched his arm and Angus's attention snapped to him.

 

    "Your companions, why do they accompany you? I am honored to have them assisting us, but..." he said in a near whisper. "They do not seem quite as ready as you do."

 

    "Our... boss asked them to help me," Angus explained. "But they don't mind! They're just tired."

 

    "I see," Helm said. His fingers twisted around the Gauntlet of Helm charm and the one that matched Angus's, squeezing them as if for comfort. His eyes drifted to Angus's necklace, and he smiled. "You have a Periapt, perfect!" he cheered. "Poetry says they are great luck against the Disease."

 

    "Oh, really?" Angus said, picking up his own charm to look at it again. Finally, someone with an answer! "Where did you get yours?"

 

    "The High Priest insisted I keep it," Helm said. "Said a successful mission would require its power."

 

    Angus opened his mouth to ask more questions, being the detective he was and wanting all the information on the charm he could possibly get, but was interrupted by a shout. The voice belonged to a half-elf girl, likely barely older than Helm, who was darting toward them, a piece of parchment clutched in her hand. She did a flip to land in front of them, narrowly missing being smacked in the face by her loose, fiery braid. "New message!" she declared, though Angus thought the parchment made that obvious. "Mars got ahold of some doctor who was travelin' with some Disease patients and the doc accepted her offer to shelter 'em!"

 

    Helm took the offered message, scanning it excitedly as they walked. The half-elf stuck her hands in her pockets, eyes drifting over to Angus. She rolled her eyes, ears twitching in an almost... irritated fashion? "You're Angus, arent'cha?" she asked. "Certainly match the nerdy description."

 

    Angus blinked a few times, self-consciously pushing his glasses up his nose. It wasn't the first time he'd been called nerdy (the voices of the Reclaimers echoed in his head with  _that_ thought) but this was the first time he'd been identified as himself by the quality. Usually, people knew who he was because he looked, to quote many, like an "extremely fancy lad." He coughed a little, smiling at her and saying, "That's my name! What's yours?"

 

    "Irene. Those your friends?"

 

    She pulled a hand out of her pocket to gesture behind them, where the Reclaimers had nearly caught up. Taako, who had taken the lead while they were talking, came up and leaned on Angus's head (gently), casting the shadow of his hat across Angus's face. "Who's the new friend, kiddo?" he asked.

 

    "The name's Irene," she said, looking up at him with a rather unimpressed expression. "Hey, you look familiar."

 

    Taako tensed, and Angus could imagine the way his smile always flickered before coming back two-fold. He'd seen it often enough to picture it nearly perfectly. He didn't know what caused it (yet; an investigation for the future) but he knew Taako was quick to recover.

 

    "I was pretty famous for a while, I mean, I'm Taako from TV," Taako hummed. "Now, where are we heading?"

 

    "Camp is just beyond the trees," Helm piped up, rolling the paper back up. "I think you will enjoy it! It is quite the nice area."

 

    "We set up an extra tent for ya already," Irene added, starting to walk backward towards the trees Helm was talking about. "Hope y'all didn't forget camping gear, though, tents are all we got for you."

 

    "That is... not true," Helm said, wrinkling his brow. "No matter! Let us go!"

 

    The Reclaimers followed the three children beyond the trees, Poetry in tow, unaware that they had just sealed the fate of many with a single step.


End file.
